Falling
by Emmy the Writer
Summary: Shizuru: An Angel thrown from heaven with 13 weeks to live. Natsuki: A suicidal youth with no reason to survive. As the wheels of Fate turn, alot more than the life of one angel is at stake. The premonition of war blows in with the wind. [AU ShizNat]
1. It's monday: A fine day to die

A/N I know I should be writing Time Before Dawn, but this idea popped into my head while I was on holiday and I ended up drawing loads of art about it etc, so I decided I must write it down.

This is a ShizNat AU, for those who didn't get that already.

You reap what you sow.

That was one of Death's many scythe-related idioms. I've visited Death many times over my years, principally because he has this type of tea made from the distilled essence of damned souls that really picks you up. Death's really quite sociable once you get to know him, a charming man by the name of Reito Kanzaki; though I wouldn't say he's my type.

The official court of heaven. Only the most highly ranked angels win a place on the presiding jury here. Am I a highly ranked angel? You should have asked me that a month ago, then I could have honestly smiled my sweet smile and said yes.

You see, we had a new archangel. The last one had passed away under mysterious circumstances.

Juliet Nao Zhang; the most powerful angel in heaven.

And she had big conversion plans or the lot of us. At first I wasn't sure of what was happening; she had called the most beautiful and powerful angels to her quarters over her first few weeks, and they had returned singing the new leader's praises as though the sun shined out of her nostrils.

In reality, I don't think that Mai Tokiha, the angel of the sun, would allow the sun to be placed inside anyone's nasal cavity. But then again, she was one of the few of us left that wasn't called to Juliet's office.

I was quite astonished that the new archangel had appeared out of thin air. I mean, I had been seeded to succeed Fumi, the previous one.

I was called to her quarters nearly exactly one week ago. Which isn't very long, considering time had no dominance outside of the material plane. But I've learned from humans that a lot can happen in a short space of time. You see, I like to pay attention to the 'lesser beings', even though most of the inhabitants of heaven are completely oblivious to the world below.

When I entered the golden pavilion, I found the aforementioned archangel splayed in a somewhat alluring position on top of the extremely vast bed, wearing very little in the way of garments. Her wings were curled around her, censoring the worst of it, but not leaving much to the imagination.

She wanted me to sleep with her.

The revelation struck me like Tate, Heaven's shield bearer and the head of the cloud guard's war hammer. An archangel's orders are absolute. If she says jump off the precipice of the way of judgment and into the fires of hell, you jump without a second thought.

It's programmed into us. I remember when I was very small, less than a few centuries old, entering the academy for the first time. The memory is slightly distorted, but even now I can feel the small, spherical bump at the nape of my neck, on my back. Angels are perfect, the symbol of heaven and the vision of divinity. They are all the same.

Which is the way they wanted it to remain. They control us. It's been that way for several ages and that is the way I will remain.

In retrospect, that was a very naïve thought.

There I stood in the Official court of heaven, chains binding every part of my body that could possibly help me escape. There was no room even to stretch my wings.

I was charged of felony. More specifically, directly disobeying the orders of the archangel. She sat there, looking overwhelmingly smug, with a dressing over her eye where I clipped her with my divine weapon, which is currently in the shape of Naginata. I have a certain fondness for the weapons.

She wanted me to sleep with her. Any other angel would have stripped there and jumped into bed without question; but I am not any other angel.

I am Shizuru Voila.

It's Monday: - A fine day to die.

I was happy that day; so happy I even bothered to go to school. My first attendance in two months. Not that anyone particularly cares. Who would hold anything other than hate towards some broke orphan, abandoned by every gang she joined?

I knew what I was going to use. I knew where. I knew how.

And I had the guts to do it. Suicide, I mean. Heck, killing myself was probably easier than maths homework.

I think I'm sixteen. Then again, since when have I been counting? I think I tore apart the ruddy calendar I used to tack up on the walls just after I learned the months of the year.

I once had a foster family, I think. They had good intentions, and raised me properly until about the age of… 7? 8? It all seems the same for me now.

Good intentions aside, I don't like playing by the rules.

My life is anything but constant. I make a living by stealing, scavenging and picking up odd jobs whenever I can. The humanity of these jobs is definitely questionable. But hey, if it keeps me going, I take it.

I enjoy stewing in my own misery. Friends can go to hell for all I care. In fact, I might meet some of said friends tonight at twilight. Ha, that rhymed.

I sat at my school desk, happily spewing out answers to maths problems like there's no tomorrow.

Ah, the irony. There really is no tomorrow. For me, anyway. No tomorrow, no Wednesday, no seventeenth birthday, no adulthood, no growing old and having grandchildren and retiring to somewhere by the sea.

For me, there's no starter, no main course, no pudding. No weekends out at some park with your parents and your little brother. No nights spent reading manga by torchlight. No graduation ceremony. No diploma. No gap year. No first kiss. No wedding.

Aw, I'm being so pessimistic. Look on the bright side! No school, no exams, no disease, no mid-life crisis, no old age, no seeing people dear to you pass away. No-

I was about to say death. But that's the only little tick in my checklist at the moment.

I'm rambling again. Oh well. I'm probably breaking the fourth or third or fifth wall, too- I can never remember which is which.

Gym class was fun. I ran my heart out, winning a medal. I wore it around my neck proudly, determined to have fun on my last day. I bought everybody drinks at lunch, using up the last of my wallet. I flirted with any object, human, inanimate or otherwise in site. I glanced up to the sky, think that if I have a guardian angel, they're probably sitting back and laughing their heads off at my antics.

I don't believe in angels. 'Coz I know that none are coming to save me. The gun under my shirt reminds me that I'm not a kid any more. I can make my own decisions. My heart beats at the thought of what I'm going to do.

It's five o'clock. I'm walking to the place where I'll take my life. My Ducati motorbike was lifted by some punks a few weeks ago.

Superstitious people call it Heaven's stairway, because it's like a giant set of crumbling stone steps with arches at the top. I figure I could strike up a bit of a ruckus by dying there. Maybe I could even get to heaven quicker, if it existed.

It's five thirty, and the sun is setting in the west. I have no regrets.

Then again, I don't have much of anything. I have no Family, no home, no friends, no money.

Do I even have any common sense? I believe that that is the only thing I have an acceptable amount of. Most people would disagree; they'd tell me that killing myself was not the right thing to do. They'd say that I was blinded by grief and loneliness and would regret killing myself.

My lips curled into a grimace at that. How could I regret something that was a no win no lose situation?

I wonder what awaits after death? It's one f the questions humans will never truthfully be ably to answer, just because no body will ever truly rise from the dead.

In retrospect, that was a very naïve thought.

I have a gun. It's loaded with a single bullet, made of pure gold. Don't ask me how I got hold of enough gold to make it. It's better if you don't know. I'm breaking another of those damn walls again. Oh well.

My Name is Natsuki Kuga.

So? What do you think? I apologise for swapping between past and present tense, but I think it makes it more realistic. It's pretty easy to see where this is heading. I hope you will enjoy this as much as TBD, and that I have enough time to write it when I'm at school. I find this story much easier to write than the past few chaps of TBD. I'm stuck for inspiration on TBD. PM me if you can help…

No omake… there isn't enough humor here to make one. ANGST!!

Have fun

Emiri


	2. I Never liked that Halo much anyway

A/N: my hands are a painful blur. I never realized I had this many bug bites until now. Haha. I bring you chapter two. And by the way, _mashiro _means pure white, and Mashiro is the name of our beloved child-spoiled loli-princess/ queen.

Discalimer: Me no owny Mai HiME. Or Mai Otome. All I own are multiple mosquito bites. Haha.

Chapter 2- I never liked that Halo much anyway…

"It is the unanimous decision by the high holy court that the accused, Shizuru Viola of the high angels, is found guilty of felony towards the Archagel," Rang the voice of Shiho, the court's high judge through the halls.

"The punishment for her wrongdoings is as follows…"

Please, let it be small. Imprisonment, demotion, anything. I may appear straight-faced and stoic, but inside, I'm deadly frightened of what they could do to me. I know nothing but peace.

"Shizuru Viola shall be stripped of her Angelic title, shunned to Earth and given Thirteen weeks to survive before the retribution squad is sent to find her."

Execution.

And what's worse, it's a very undignified way of execution. To die as a fallen angel. To never ascend into the halls of purity. To never climb heaven's stair into the golden pavilion.

To die on earth is to never reach heaven or hell. To die on earth is to wander between life and death, material and immortal, godliness and evil forevermore. In eternal pain.

Sounds fun.

I snapped. My life had just been thrown into the tumble-dryer like a pair of old socks. My blood-red eyes widened as a maniacal grin spread across my usually serene face. Dilated pupils gave Juliet Nao Zhang a look that made her flinch a bit. A low throaty chuckle escaped my lips, reverberating around the vast walls of the judgment chamber.

And I fell.

Through the apparently solid floor of the pavilion, I fell.

Whipping through the lower levels of heaven, I fell.

Meeting the stagnant air of the material plane, I fell.

Ara, I've been doing so much falling today….

**Natsuki**

It's twilight. The in-between time of the day. This is my favorite part of each twenty-four hour pocket of despair. At twilight, I feel like nothing matters.

When the dark blanket of night takes over, I have to face my sleepy demons. In the day, I worry about being beaten up. Failing a job, getting caught by cops and various other things.

The analog display on my twice-mended watch reads five fifty-nine pm. And 4 seconds and 45 milliseconds, to be exact. But that's irrelevant.

I pulled the gun from its holster. It glimmered menacingly in the dying light of today.

The dying light. Quite appropriate.

I glanced at the medal around my neck, briefly wondering if I should take it off. Heck, what does it matter? It's just a piece of metal with gold paint on. I'll keep it on. So I can die with some kind of achievement in my life. I suppressed the urge to giggle.

I placed the gun to the side of my head, my finger not even quivering on the trigger. Hmmm, this doesn't seem quite right. Should I aim for the heart instead? That seemed more dramatic. But likely more painful. Decisions, decisions.

Bracing myself, I maneuvered the gun into a position where it was just left of the centre of my chest, where my heart is. I doubted the bullet would even break the ice that had gathered in constricting crystals around it, but hoped that it would at least cause enough internal bleeding for me to die.

I looked down at the gun once more. The small label 'Fujino corp' stood out on the side. Ironic really, since I had got this gun the night I was sent to kill the boss's daughter. Poor kid, she was only about a year older than me. And I ended her life. I bet she's lying on a recliner in heaven, sipping and Oreo milkshake and smiling at me as I prepare to take my life. Sigh.

This was it. Twilight only had a few more minutes to go. I closed my eyes, willing the opposing muscles in my finger to contract and stretch, pulling that tiny little trigger an inch backwards so that I could finally be done with this tiresome existence.

I felt rushing air before I shot. Wind, I guess. Then, a sudden jolt moved the gun right a bit and something pretty heavy landed on top of me.

The trigger pulled back, releasing the tiny gold bullet.

Like always in these situations, I'm not really sure what happened next. I heard and bang, then a clang, then a 'mmph!', and subsequently, the world went black.

It was warm, comfortably so. Hmm… If dying feels this nice, I should do it more often. I was aware of a pressure on the top of my body, and so opened my eyes. I couldn't see anything; the whole knoll was lit up by _mashiro _light coming from a break in the clouds above. Oh goodie. Looks like heaven takes in suicidal murderers as well. Lucky me.

Weirdly enough, that light wasn't getting any closer. In fact, the hole in sky started to close, leaving the gloom of night behind it. Shoot, missed the ferry.

Whoa, whoa, slow down here. I just realised, my eyes are open. And able to move. My hand twitches. My chest rises and falls with steady breaths. Damn. I'm not dead. So much for 40 carats…

More importantly, there's something- no, some_one _on top of me. I can't see much, so I rolled over and slid out from under whatever it was.

A pressure on my chest caught my attention. I looked down, and here was the medal from earlier, but now it was a bullet-sized dent in it. I'd usually have some degrading and sarcastic comment here, but I'm lost for words.

I turned, looking for the aforesaid weight on me.

I gasped.

**Shizuru**

Ara, I appear to have landed on something quite squishy. Personally, I though the Fall From Grace would be worse, but then again, you don't always get what the picture on the cereal box says you will.

I felt odd. For a second, I just lay there on top of whomever or whatever I was laying on, breathing deeply.

And then, would you Adam and Eve it, my halo dropped from the sky and knocked me flat out.

**Natsuki**

In front of me was an angel. A midnight –black winged, unconscious angel with her halo askew on top of her chestnut hair, but aye, an angel nonetheless.

Alternatively, I was in front of a very sad Otaku who has enough money to cosplay such realistic and expensive dress.

I have no bullets left. Remember? I only bought the one. In hindsight, that was kinda stupid. But who expects and angel to come tumbling through a bloody hole in the sky when they're committing suicide?

"uuugghh…" the angel groaned, stirring slightly. I got a better look at her clothes. See the author's DeviantART profile for a pic (shameless self-promotion, but seriously, my DevianART profile link is on my main profile here, and you can go see the pics once I've scanned them).

I stepped back, sure I must be dead or hallucinating. Angels don't exist! Etto…

**Shizuru**

"uuugghh…" I groaned, groggily stirring from my happy dream, in which I had torn Nao Zhang apart and took her place as archangel. I lifted my weary limbs into a half-sitting position. I don't think I've ever felt this heavy before.

I opened my eyes, expecting to stare at whatever I was on top of. Unfortunately, it had just wriggled out from underneath my body, leaving me on the dewy grass.

Hmmm, grass. It feels so real down here, compared to the perfectly green measured blades of Fountain Park in heaven. I feel wet. It never rains in heaven. I turned to face my body pillow.

It was a girl, a human one. And heck, if all humans were that stunning, this place might just beat heaven. She had long, deep marine hair, sparkling emerald eyes and a figure Paris Hilton would sell that annoying little dog of hers for. She was clad in a leather jacket that was cut of at the bottom, with nothing underneath except bandages covering her breasts. On her legs were a pair of low-cut baggy jeans with multiple holes, ending in a very worn pair of trainers. To finish the ensemble was a blue bandana with a wolf design on.

There was also, strangely, a dented medal around her neck. I looked around and saw a gun on the floor, and a spent bullet a few inches from it. I put two and two together.

I had prevented this girl from committing suicide.

You know what they say; a good turn a day keeps death and his nasty scythe away. Death certainly has a scythe complex, the poor guy.

Standing up and brushing myself off, I felt a weight on my head. Pulling it off its resting place, which was sitting crookedly on the left side of my head (my left, your right), I inspected the golden metal right.

My Halo.

Oh well, I never liked that halo much anyway.

--

Here's chapter 2! You can go check my deviantART on my profile for pic of the characters. Then you'll see why Shizuru's outfit is so hard to describe! That's for all your reviews so far.

To **gale, **the anon reviewer: you thought that angels aren't supposed to be gay and that Nao is really a guy? And you're reading SHIZNAT YURI??

Omake: (yes you get one this time!)

Shiho: Shizuru voila, for crimes against… (Blah Blah)

CRASH! Tomoe the angel of tomoes crashes into the court.

Tomoe: you will be chained naked to my bed forevermore! MUAHAHAHAHA!

Shiho: …not what I was going to say, but it seems punishment enough…

Emiri (even though your can't see it on her, I always put those squiggly hyphen things before my name)


	3. Putting the past behind oneself

A/N (yawn) I'm so lazy! Must keep writing! Please remember that if you have any ideas on how I can continue Time Before Dawn, please PM me. Chronic writers block and tonsillitis has assailed me 4 days before flying to school. Bummer.

Disclaimer: All I own is a few boxes of pocky and a coke. That means I don't own Mai HiME, Otome, Shizuru, Natsuki etc etc…

Chapter 3: Putting the past behind oneself.

**Shizuru**

Plopping the Halo back onto my head in the crooked position, I again turned to face the azure-haired beauty that was gawping at me.

**Natsuki**

She's a fallen angel. A fallen angel has just fallen from heaven and stopped me from committing suicide.

That's a bit of a plot twist, ne?

She's looking at me. Creepy, she's got red eyes! And black wings. Her whole visage sends shivers down my spine. Probably because

a) It's now night time and it's cold,

b) Because I am wearing very little on my top and

c) She's a freaking black-winged angel with an aura that could make even my mathematics teacher tremble.

Which is really saying something.

Inner Natsuki took over as my heart iced over and the cold logical side of me. I took my knife from the sheath and brandished it in little miss angel's direction.

"W-who and wha-t-t are y-you!" it came out all stuttery, damn it! I had meant to sound intimidating.

"Why, my name is Shizuru…" she briefly glanced down at the gun "…Fujino. Shizuru Fujino."

"I'm not convinced," I replied coldly, advancing with the knife-arm outstretch. She was a few inches taller than me, so I angled the knife higher and pushed my foot into a spin, grabbing her shoulder and ending up with my knife to her throat and my body pressed against her back, my free hand holding her other arm with an elbow lock.

I gasped again.

I could feel the warm feathers of her dark wings against my chest, tickling the exposed skin. I was touching the bare skin around the exposed part of her back, and just then I realised this was the closest I have ever been to someone, proximity-wise. Usually I just shot them or threw the knife, so what had possessed me to use such a move?

**Shizuru**

She has her knife by the throat. Her lithe body is pressed against my back, and her free arm is holding mine.

I have to stay deadly still. This girl has the glimmer of a killer in her eyes. I know, instinctively, that she will not falter to slit my throat at any time if I disobey her.

What a great welcoming party. Well, I can't say that I expected a marching band clad in gold and a bouquet of roses.

"Now tell me," her voice is pretty deep for a girl, "what the hell are you?"

"Shizuru Viola, president of the council of the high angels, denizen of the third pavilion of upper heaven," blurted from my mouth. It's a programmed introduction.

Her body stiffened a bit and I felt the blade of her weapon press harder against my neck. It will break the flesh soon.

"I'll ask once more. Tell me-" I won't waste any more time. I haven't the luxury to afford to answer the questions of mortals. I twisted my right leg around hers and brought us both down, flicking the knife from her hands.

Oh god. I feel so weak; I really shouldn't have done that. I'm mortal now. No angelic powers. A human body with a pair of wings is all I can say I am. I doubt I could even fly using them.

The world's getting dark. I can feel the human pushing me off of her. I think I'm going to pass out. For a long time. She's touching me. Shaking me. Calling me…

**Natsuki**

Shizuru Viola, president of the council of the high angels, denizen of the third pavilion of upper heaven just fainted on top of me. Damn. I have a feeling there should be more capitals in that sentence. Oh well.

I shook her, calling to her to wake up. Now she's unconscious, I feel insecure again.

I guess suicide will have to wait.

I can't just leave her here. Picking up my things and shoving them into my pocket, I crouched down and scooped her up, bridal style, and began to totter back to my makeshift home. She's not as heavy as I thought she'd be. She said her name was Fujino. I know that it was a lie, a weak attempt to conceal her identity, but all the same, it plucked on a few of my heartstrings… she does kind of look like the Fujino girl I killed.

**Shizuru**

Mmmnn…? Where am I? It's warm. I'm under covers.

Mmmnn…? Who am I? I can't remember. Figures.

I stirred and attempted to prop myself up in whatever I was in, drowsily opening my eyes.

There's the small of cooking in the air, it's wafting from my left. Who am I again? I'll have to ask someone.

My clothes are gone. What was I wearing before this? Now I'm just in bandages covering my body and a pair of gymnastics shorts. I've got bruises everywhere.

The back of my neck hurts. A lot. I placed my hand there, expecting… something? To be there. The area was raised. There was a plaster covering it. Tearing it off, I found a short but wide and deep cut, shaped like and 'X'. Something had been taken out. I just can't remember what.

Footfalls. The sound of steps, coming from the source of the good smell. Ah I see. I'm in some kind of abandoned apartment block. Someone is camping out here.

It's a girl. She had long, raven tresses of hair and deep green eyes. I wonder who she is? She's carrying a tray. With food on it. My stomach gives a gurgle, reminding me that I haven't eaten.

Uh- when was yesterday? What was I doing? Have I ever eaten food before? Millions of unanswered questions drift around my mind.

"I see you're awake," The girl says. My, she has a low voice. I wasn't expecting that, "I brought you lunch."

She laid the tray down on the floor beside where I'm lying. What is it? It isn't a bed. I think it's a futon. Futon… where do people sleep on these? I've forgotten.

The world doesn't make sense anymore. I have a sense of urgency gnawing at my stomach. Like I've only got weeks to live…

What a silly thought. I brushed it aside, and concentrated on the girl.

"Who… are you?" I asked uncertainly, eyeing the toast with mayonnaise still steaming on the tray.

"You mean you don't remember?" she asked incredulously, giving me a disbelieving look. "I think I've saved your life!" eh?

"Eh?"

"You were lucky too! There was this ruddy great metal ball imbedded into your spine? How on earth have you survived!" she demands.

"This is all very nice but… who am I?" I asked. Maybe she knows something.

"You mean… you don't remember!?" she exclaimed, almost shooting up and toppling the tray that is placed on her lap.

"No… I don't, actually." I replied. "Can I have some?" I pointed at the toast.

She grunted and passed me the larger of the two toasted mayo sandwiches. How considerate of her.

She's frowning, her hand resting on her furrowed forehead.

"That complicates things significantly…' she muttered.

I quietly munch the mayo toast. She's not a good cook, but at least she's tried.

"Do you even remember your name?"

Eh? My name...? Come to think of it,

"No,"

" I know your name," she states.

"You do!?" my face lit up.

"Of course. You told me."

How is that possible? I've never seen you before in my life…

"You told me two days ago, on top of heaven's stair."

Heaven's stair? Can't say it rings a bell.

"I've been asleep for two whole days!?"

"Yup,"

Whoa. That's a long time to sleep. Hmmm. My thoughts seem off. They seem too laid back. Am I a serious person? _Was _I a serious person? I'll have to ask my savior.

"Savior-sama-"

"It's Natsuki, dammit. Natsuki Kuga."

"Natsuki-sama-"

"Just Natsuki will do. Na-tsu-ki."

"Na-tsu-ki. What's my name?"

She paused for a minute.

"You said it was Shizuru… Shizuru Fujino."

Ah! That does ring a little tinkly piece of vibrating metal in my head. Shizuru Fujino. It's a nice name. I think it suits me.

Oh well. If I don't know anything else, I at least know my name. Shizuru.

Shizuru Fujino.

----

There's chapter 3 off the port bow! Arr, me maties, shiver me timbers (and a bottle full of rum!). Sorry. I'm in a piratey mood. There's a toy parrot on my desk. Pieces of eight!

Omake:

Shizuru: Natsuki… what's my name?

Natsuki: you said it was Bond. James Bond.

Shizuru 0.o

-Emiri- (boo hoo, no squiggly things today!)


	4. A disgruntled roommate

A/N I have nearly hit 5k words already! Kimochii-! Mayo toast for all my reviewers!

As promised, there will be angst in this chapter. Hey, I have frigging tonsillitis 4 days before going back to boarding school, am I not allowed to be angsty?

A warning: this chapter has little in the way of fluff. It would be boring if Natsuki and Shizuru liked each other immediately. Bah humbug.

EDIT: there is fluff at the end of the chapter! Yey!

Disclaimer: I own my tonsils, but not mai HiME/ Otome. I may not own my tonsils soon, either… -.-;

Chapter 4: A disgruntled roommate.

**Natsuki**

God this woman is annoying! I save her life, take a bullet out of her back, change her clothes, give her shelter, feed her, and all I get is questions! I can't stand those types of people!

Furthermore, she's prevented me from getting out of my drear predicament, falling like that! I think I was probably hallucinating anyway. Where are those wings now, little miss angel?

I still have the halo though. Finder keepers, and I can tell you, that much gold will buy me a pretty penny. I mean, she doesn't need it, right? She's fallen to earth.

This complicates so many things. I have no money, am wanted by the police, (but I mean, another of my identities is wanted. No-body knows my face), and now unable to take my life because of this troublesome girl that's dropped from the sky!

I am definitely a disgruntled roommate.

And what's worse, I've used up the last of my Mayo.

I think I hate her.

**Shizuru**

I get the feeling she doesn't want me here. No, I _know _she doesn't want me here. From what I can tell, she's a delinquent teenager, living by scrounging an existence from doing bad things.

Stealing.

Exploiting.

Even killing.

This was definitely not the type of person I wanted to associate with. And yet, I'm under her custody. Fiddlesticks.

I'm not sure how I feel towards Na-tsu-ki. I mean, how could I like someone that rough and downright dirty? She's on the run from the law in an abandoned apartment! She's the first thing I remember!

I think I hate her.

It's infuriating. I can hardly move, my body is recovering so slowly. Her flat is grimy; she never bothers to tidy up. The windows are boarded up and very little light comes through the windows. When she's home, she moodily polishes her gun and knifes, or counting her ill-gotten gains. And when she's out I don't even WANT to think what she's doing.

**Natsuki**

This girl is really stretching me to breaking point. I feel as though I can't just abandon her, but I also can't bring myself to like her. Fujino Shizuru, you really like complicating things, don't you?

I need to go to school. Ask from the money back from the drinks I bought my class 3 days ago. Also, there's a certain teacher who owes me information, I've been doing everything I can to find out just exactly what this Fujino woman is. I should really be calling her Voila, but I think it may be a bit of a Taboo.

Sakomizu gave me a book. I hate reading, so I've just left it in the safe-box of the apartment for the morning. I better start on it now, I guess.

I picked it up. It's written in… what? Runes it looks like. How the hell and I supposed to decode this? Bugger, nothing seems to be going right for me today. Or yesterday, and come to think of it, the day before too. This woman is at the root of all my problems.

There's a thought, maybe she can read this damned book. I walked over to her bedside, rudely thrusting it on top of her lap.

"Read it."

She looks at me dumfounded for a minute, but picks the book up and carefully turns to the first page.

"So?' I asked, "Do you understand it?"

"Of course I do! It's plain old…" she stops.

**Shizuru**

"Of course I do! It's plain old…" plain old what? My mind registers the meaning of the words, but what language is it? What language am I speaking in? What language am I even _thinking _in?

"Plain old what?" she growls, snapping at my pause. Tsk, she's so impatient.

" Plain old… words, I guess." What a pitiful answer. The best I could come up with.

"Just tell me what the damn book's about!" she practically yells. Wow, does she have withdrawal symptoms or something? Blood sugar level low? Under craving threshold? It somehow wouldn't surprise me.

"Give me a while to real it and I'll tell you what it's about," I curtly reply, figuring out that if I can go get her to sulk in a corner, she'll calm down a bit.

**Shiho, Heaven's imperial judge**

Honestly, everything is so DULL! Ever since we sent old Shizuru packing, the archangel has been doing nothing but sulking in her room. She also gets violent when she's bored, which isn't good if you happen to be in bed with her.

I can't really discern much, but when did we just accept a violent archangel? Aren't they supposed to be the embodiment of purity?

I'm on my way to Juliet's quarters now, but she just woke up so I should be safe.

She wants to discuss that Viola woman.

"Nice of you to finally join me, Shiho. Been doing a few maki makis before breakfast?" she teases when I enter. I froze. How could she know about that? Gulp.

"N-no, not at all, Archangel…" that was awkward.

"Really? Oh anyway, I've discovered what's happened to our dear Shizuru Viola," she beckoned to me to look through some kind of mirror thing.

And, speak of the devil (and considering that it was Juliet Nao Zhang that spoke, that's probably what it is…) there's Shizuru sitting on a dirty futon reading a book, with a blue-haired woman (who Julliet is eyeing with _that _look. And who could blame her? That is one hot human) moodily sitting on the floor beside her.

"As you can see, this girl is looking after her. She's lost all her memories, too."

Which means…?

As if reading my mind, which she probably is, the archangel replies "which means we have a chance to have some fun with her. No, no; don't look at me like that, I don't mean _that _kind of fun.

"Remember that sprite, what was his name again? The one that's good at fiddling with dreams, Negi was it? No, it was Nagi. That's right, Nagi. Get someone to drag him here from his hangout in the grand library. I have a job for him."

Uh oh.

**Natsuki**

Just being in the same room as this mysterious woman makes me irate and short-tempered. I can't explain it, but I bet that if I brought anyone near her, they would get the same feeling. It's just impossible to stand.

So why, on day four, am I still going through with this?

She shut the book. Which means she either has finished reading or is royally pissed.

"The book is some fantasy tale about the history of angels," she scoffs, running her hand down the spine of the book lovingly. I get the feeling that before she lost her memory, she really liked books.

A fantasy tale about angels? Knowing what I now, it probably isn't fantasy. It helps, though, because now I at least have some information, or at least a source of it, about her.

I've decided to start attending school again, solely for the reason that I think I'll go insane if I stay in the same room as her all day. She just… looks at you, staring unblinkingly into my eyes. It's unnerving.

I still dislike staying in the same room with her at night, even more so now that she's using my futon. The sofa isn't very comfortable, being saggy and having dangerously sharp springs sticking out of it at odd angles.

**Shizuru**

She's been avoiding me. It's easy to tell. She goes to school in the day, something a delinquent only wants to do to hide from something or one.

Namely me.

It's not my fault I stare at her. Stare into her deep, green eyes. I just get a tug in my stomach and a misty recollection, like I've stared into those eyes before.

That night, I had a dream. Dream or nightmare, I couldn't really discern.

_Hello, my little one._

_So confused you look, staring into the sky at me from down there._

_Fallin,g falling, through the sky,_

_Watch the clouds that pass you by…_

_Falls your halo on your head,_

_Then you wake up in someone's bed…_

Somebody's taunting me. A singsong voice plays through my head, just out of reach from my grasping hands.

The scene changes. It's Na-tsu-ki, lying dead at the top of heaven's stair, a bullet through her chest. The sight sickens me.

I'm rising. Through the clouds, up to heaven.

This can't be what heaven looks like.

There's a thunderstorm going on. It's raining heavily. White dwellings lay smoking charcoal fumes into the heavy air. Bodies litter the floor, hacked apart in the most inhumane ways.

Cruel laughter meets my ears. On a huge throne of thorns, a red-haired woman proclaims her rule. She beams down at the destruction with maniacal eyes, chuckling all the while. She's holding something out to me. A halo of thorns. Goading. She places on my defenseless head, and pain shoots through my body.

There's someone beside me. My shoulder feels wet. Still under the sway of my vivid dream, it takes a while to recognize it as Na-tsu-ki. She's sobbing uncontrollably, hugging tight into my body. Looking at her helpless figure brings tears to my own eyes.

She's having a nightmare

"Na-tsu-ki…" I whisper, gently taking her shuddering frame.

"Please… no… don't take her…" she mumbles urgently, gripping my loose t-shirt tighter.

"shhh… don't worry, they won't take her anywhere, she'll always be with you," I cooed, trying my best to reassure Na-tsu-ki. I just can't bear to see her in pain.

"Okaa-san… you'll never leave me, will you?" she whispers, sniggling closer, almost like a child.

"Of course not… sweet dreams, Nat-tsu… Natsuki…"

-----

muhaahahahah! There's unexpected fluff at the end of this chapter! Shizuru has spooky dreams! Natsuki has a nightmare! I had to pack this morning, which is why this chapter is so late. It's a little longer than usual, though, so enjoy it!

Remember, I anyone has any idea on how I should continue Time before dawn (I have writers block on it) please PM me!

Omake:

Natsuki: Mum, you'll never leave me, right 

Shizuru: of course not, I'll always be here!

Natsuki then mom… can we do it again?

Shizuru: (I had no idea that Natsuki has Yuri Momcest! I should take the opportunity, though…)

Have fun

(squiggly thing) Emiri


	5. Breaking Barriers

A/N: 1day and counting! I'm so nervous…! But what better way to get over nerves than to write fanfiction? Don't have to get my tonsils removed, whoopee. But now I can't eat loads o ice cream… oh well. I'm on the plane to England at the moment! It's really weird to be actually writing while flying. 

Disclaimer: the usual drone, me no owny Mai HiME or Otome so you no suey. Kk?

Chapter 5- Breaking Barriers

**Natsuki**

Mnn… it's really warm. I'm cuddling someone. Okaa-san? You finally came back after fourteen years. A little late, but not unappreciated.

Naw… this person has too long hair to be Okaa-san. Who is it then?

I opened my eyes a slit, meeting the face of the one sleeping next to me.

Shizuru.

"whhaa!" I cried, jumping out of bed like an electric eel had just slithered under my shirt. "What are you doing in my-"

Forgot, it's her bed. I sleep on the sofa. Then… I climbed into bed with her last night? Oh, god. I didn't talk in my sleep, did I? Just how much did she find out? What does she know?

She sits up groggily, examining the surroundings. Her red eyes widen when she sees me standing a few feet away from her in nothing but a shirt and panties.

A blush alights my face. She's smiling sweetly, giving me the classic serene 'I-didn't-do-anything' face.

I huffily storm out of the room and into the small bathroom, changing into my rather threadbare school uniform at a speed that would make speedy Gonzales envy me.

There's a poster up on the wall. A flyer for the date of demolition of this place.

**September 1****st**

Shoot. What's the date today? Well, on the day I picked Shizuru up, it was August 28th, and that was 3 days ago, so…

It's September the 1st (no, it actually is, I'm on the plane to England writing this at the moment! Sugoi!).

Demolition date.

"Shhhhhiiizzzuuruu!" I cry, skidding out of the bathroom and rushing to pack everything up. Shoot! How could I have gotten so complacent here that I missed the demolition date? Baka Natsuki. Baka baka baka!

**Shizuru**

She's jerking my arm, shouting for me to hurry up. Something about a demolition deadline. Hai hai, just five more minutes…

Natsuki's not having any of it, dragging the futon out form under me, she rolls it up and straps it onto the top of a suitcase (there are two. Funny, I never noticed them before.)

She pushes on into my hands, yelling for us to go.

"I'm sorry Natsuki! I can't hear you over the sound of all the machinery!" I shouted as she pulled me down the stairs, eight at a time.

Wait. Machinery?

Demolition! That's what she was on about! They're demolishing the building she's been illegally living in today! There was a notice pinned to the bathroom wall.

CRASH. A demolishing ball crashes into the side of the building meters above where we just were. Rubble and debris fly everywhere, and now I have a nasty cut on my arm. Owie.

I'm scared. Really scared. I can't remember anything on this planet other than the inside of Natsuki's apartment. And now, all of a sudden, there's been a dramatic shift in scenery.

"Shizuru!" she shouts, running while turning to face me, "whatever you do, don't let go of my hand!"

And we jumped.

Honestly, I feel like I've done this before, this falling out of the sky business. Reality check, we're going to DIE! She lives on the twenty-ninth floor!

Oh god, the ground's coming closer every minute. We're going to go splat on the pavement, and all because the outlaw of a girl was too lazy to check the demolition dates! Kuso!

**Natsuki**

Come on Shizuru, now would be a good time to sprout those wings of yours! Fly, dammit, angel! Her eyes are screwed up really tight. She's whimpering, praying that we don't die. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, Shizuru dear, but we will die unless you do that nifty trick with your feathers and FLY, DAMMIT!

It was a gamble. I was relying on Shizuru to somehow remember that she can fly, or like in a fantasy novel where they're saved at the last minute. Looking back at the rubble that was once my apartment, don't know what is worse. Death by splat or death by bang?

The hard tar of the road is coming up at me _real _fast. If something miraculous (and I mean that in the true sense of the word) doesn't happen in the next few seconds, we're goners. Death by Natsuki's rash decisions on relying on a fallen Angel with amnesia.

Wait a second… we're slowing down! The ground isn't coming so fast! My whole body feels strange, it keeps convulsing and shuddering. I can't feel anything. I'm not even sure I'm thinking. But I must be, right, since you're reading my thoughts now. Whoops, broke another of those damn walls.

And we land feather light on the pavement, and promptly pass out.

**Juliet Nao Zhang**

No way. The blue haired girl… I just can't believe what she did. It defies all logic, all the rules and all the rest of the angels in heaven.

I really like this girl.

And now, I have an added bonus.

**Shizuru**

Urgh… I feel really odd. Like i was a beach ball who's been pumped up to maximum and the pricked with a needle. Where's Natsuki?

Why is Natsuki the first to come to my mind! I should be worried about myself first and foremost, not that rebellious blue-haired dunce! Mou…!

I'm in a bed. A real, bed, not a futon like Natsuki has. Natsuki again… get out of my head! Anyway, there's a strong smell of antiseptic in the air. A hospital? No, it's too loud outside for that.

I'm in the Nurses office.

Natsuki is on a bed beside me, propped up on her pillows and looking moody. When she sees I'm awake, she turns.

"Thanks for saving me, I guess," she blurts out, obviously trying to sound as though she doesn't want to thank me.

"I… saved us?" I ask, unsure of what she means. She winces at the 'us' but replies:

"y-yeh, you did. Can we drop it now?"

Odd.

It turns out that we're at Natsuki's school. Who would have thought she actually bothered to enroll in one? We were found by the friendly and somewhat rotund Sakomizu-sensei, who is apparently an informant of Natsuki's. it makes me wonder just what type of work she does to need an informant.

The rest of the day passes in silence, save for the nurse (a caring woman names Youko-sensei) coming around to check on us. She doesn't ask any questions, but I know she's curious as to how we got all these cuts and bruises.

**Natsuki**

I thanked her. I mean, after all, how else could we have been saved if it wasn't Shizuru who slowed the fall with her wings?

Youko ordered us to stay in the infirmary tonight, and I'm fine with it, seeing as I have no-where else to sleep, except probably an alley or a dungeon in the slums.

I'm semiconscious. It's late at night. Shizuru is tossing and turning in her sleep, whimpering. A nightmare? Similar to the one I had about my mother yesterday?

It's just so hard to believe that it wasn't my mother's embrace I woke up in yesterday. The warmth and protectiveness were exactly the same feeling, but… it was Shizuru who was hugging me. Why are my emotions confused like this? Why can't I think straight?

(HAHA, think _straight_! I kill myself sometimes!)

**Shizuru**

Another night, another dream.

_Honestly, that stupid Natsuki, nearly getting you killed like that…_

_And keeping secrets from you as well, tsk tsk, not much of a friend…_

_Little angel, soon to see,_

_What a place the world can be…_

_Little Angel with red eyes,_

_Who will never see her lies…_

_Little angel, saved by sin,_

_Throws her life into the bin…_

_Little angel Shizuru,_

_Natsuki's in love with you._

What's with this dream? This is the second time there have been cryptic rhymes . however, one line was not hard to understand at all.

_Natsuki's in love with you…_

The scene changed. I'm back in the mockery of heaven again, with my crown of throns, looking at the smoldering remains of angels.

But this time, it is not Juliet Nao Zhang that is laughing at me. It's deadly silent, as apposed to Zhang's fiery and chaotic world, and icy wind blows through heaven. Standing before me with their back turned is an angel with deep blue wings that cloak their entire visage, in their hand is a gun, and their side is a wolf. A huge, albino wolf.

Everyone is dead.

I wake up in a cold sweat, shaking. Someone's holding me, just like last night. They're warm and cuddly, so I burrow my face deep into them, seeking solace from the terrifying dream.

**Natsuki**

It's okay to, y'know comfort her if she's in pain, right? It's what anyone would have done, right?

_But would anyone have climbed into her bed and cuddled her?_

o-of course! It's like second nature! Any good Samaritan would have! And anyway, be quiet little head-voice what is meant to represent my conscience! I rule around here, gotcha?

But then why do I get this funny feeling in my stomach every time I look at her?

_That's called diarrhea, Natsuki._

Very funny, haha,

But…

----

chapter 5 is brought to you exclusively by this aeroplane! Whoo sorry I can't write more, but the battery on my laptop sux so I'll have to end it here.

And yes, my dad let me take my laptop to school! Whoooopee! That means I can continue to write fanfiction!

And… could Natsuki be falling for Shizuru? What is her secret? How exactly was the fall stopped? Who is the blue-winged angel? Answers on a postcard with your name, age, address and measurements (3 sizes are also accepted)

Just kidding.

Omake:

Shizuru was in the distorted dream-heaven. A chilly wind made her shiver and a mysterious blue-winged angel with a hugeass white wolf stood on the pathway looking like something out of a fantasy anime with their clothes swaying in the breeze.

"Shizuru…" it whispered…

"I am your father!"

"Natsuki? I though Halloween isn't until October… have you been watching too much Star Wars of Emiri-chan's computer again?"

(Squiggly thing) Emiri


	6. A Box within a Box

A/ N School tomorrow! I'm saying at a friend's house today, but the internet is down at the moment so both chapter 5 and this one will be up afterwards. I have tried to save TBD with a bit of limey stuff, so check it if you want. And now, on with the show!

Disclaimer: Mai HiME belongs to Sunrise, not me. Bah humbug.

Chapter 6- A Box within a box

**Shizuru**

We're on the run again. Natsuki shook me awake in the small hours of the morning, her pack on her back and her face stern. We're making our way through the slums of the city of Fuuka, getting shifty looks from the gangs on street corners smoking.

I now know that this world is anything but perfect.

Before the dawn of time, there was no darkness, but to balance it, there was no light. Nothing existed but raw emotion and consciousness. There were no stars, no moon, no sun, no heaven and no hell.

And this nothingness spawned two opposing poles of thought, which have no name but are represented by black and white. And as time ticked on, these beings became more defined and structured. However, due to their opposite ideals and prospectives, they soon began to disagree.

White created beings of light, which she called Angels. Black brought beings of darkness named as Demons into existence. Using these creatures as their pawns, the two gods, for that was what they had been names by their awed followers, brought war into the world.

After eons of battle between the two idealists, a stray Angel and Demon found each other on peaceful terms and fell in love. Between them, a child was born of a completely different species: they named the being a human. Angered at what the two lovers had done, the Gods created a prison and cast the two into it along with their child, calling the place Earth.

Still locked in their eternal battle, the Gods left the human and their parents alone in their prison for many years. When they decided to check on them again, they found that the humans had multiplied and were peacefully living on earth.

Seeing how the humans, which were considered and inferior species, lived so serenely and without war, the Angels and Demons began to stir against their gods with mutinous intentions. They banded together and overthrew the gods, sealing them inside the consciousness of the original Angel and Demon who had created humans.

The new leaders agreed that the two factions would keep reasonably separate to prevent animosity towards each other, co-existing peacefully and making sure that humans would stay peaceful and united.

And thus we entered the time of peace.

This was short-lived, however, as the humans began to war with each other, just as the angels and demons had done all those years before. Desperate to prevent another overthrowing, the Angels decided to take a level of control over their descendents.

Everybody turned a blind eye to the lower humans, choosing to think that they were all fine by themselves. A handful of these humans became known as the Forgotten, and became an entirely different existence. They don't know anything about who they are in reality, but why they go to sleep, the raw anger and sadness, akin to what existed before the very beginning, takes over and consumes their being. If they knew about this power, they could instigate another Apocalypse.

And now, they are awakening.

**Natsuki**

I had a dream last night, a dream that I was being chased around the ruins of a courtroom. What was I running from? I have no idea. But it brought on a sense of urgent need to get away from this place, so here I am in an alleyway on the outside of Fuuka.

We're going to escape via the sewers at daybreak and make a run for the Docks in the next town, Tokyo. From there… I'll make it up as I go along.

Shizuru is quiet. Far too quiet, in my opinion. She's hiding something from me. I bet it's the nightmare she was having.

Strangely, I like the dampness of the sewers, which haven't been used for about a hundred years. I feel as though when I'm in the freedom of confinement (a bit of a contradiction there), I can forget every aspect of my tiresome life.

**Shizuru**

Nasuki seems oddly at home down in the sewers. This kind of thing would suit her, though. This place is exactly like her: Dirty, unloved and secret.

I hate all this secrecy. It's a completely new thing for me, like the slums and most of this world. I've had to push my confusion to the back of my mind, though, and focus on the task at hand.

Natsuki has a gun. Not the one she tried to kill herself with, but a smaller one. She also owns a compact sniper that disassembles itself really quickly. She has the sniper, I have the other one. My palms are sweaty; just the idea of actually using this gun makes me want to gag. A bit like Natsuki's cooking.

After climbing out using a well-concealed ladder, we arrive in a small communal shower. Why on earth are we here of all places?

A bundle of items on top of a sink catches my eye. It's a fresh and ironed military uniform. I can hear the sound of a shower pitter-pattering away in the next room, so whoever it is must be oblivious to us.

Natsuki assembles the rifle at lightning speed, loading and priming it. I'm suddenly really nervous as to what she plans to do.

The shower is turned off.

Wet slapping steps on the tiled floor can be heard, getting steadily louder and coming in our direction. It's a young man with close-cut military hair. His name is Sergeant Masashi Takeda, the name tape on his uniform read.

Or, rather, his name _was_ Sergeant Masashi Takeda.

Not even hesitating, Natsuki's trained finger squeezes the trigger, and only a muffled bang is heard before the young man drops to the ground, a bullet in his heart and horror on his face.

This girl is a killer. A murderer. I know this, but seeing her cold-heartedness and lack of compassion in shooting a ball of metal through another human's heart chills me to the core. The realization that she is emotionless at this time, the crude killing instinct and singularity, the lackluster and empty look in her beautiful eyes; they all sent retches of repulsion into my body. Natsuki is dead; someone who has killed so many time and in so many different way that she takes no guilt or joy from doing it anymore. And she's only Sixteen.

I can see why she wanted to take her own life.

She leads us out of the bathroom and through the military base with the precision of someone who has done this many times before. Anybody who sees us is shot before his or her brain even registers that we're there.

She picks up a military motorcycle in the hangar while we're here; I guess they don't need it anymore, being dead and all. I can see her reasoning, even though the logic is so twisted and flawed that it might as well not be logic at all.

We're zooming through the sparse grassland outside Fuuka, I can see the lights of Tokyo in the distance. It used to be a small fishing village, but after the last war, it was turned into a military port and now it's reverted to a large town after this country backed out of the battle; Natsuki explained it to me over the roar of the wind as we passed the signpost for 20 miles to the destination.

I've got my arms wrapped around Natsuki's slender waist; I can feeling the skin of her stomach. It's cold; far too cold for a normal person, yet it matches her demeanor and history perfectly. Under her taut pale alabaster skin, I can feel the muscles that come with her profession ripple slightly as she place her weight to make the motorcycle lean and turn.

At the border patrol a few miles from the gate, Natsuki produces a fake passport that identifies her as Nina Wang, an emissary of a private trading company from Fuuka. The guards eye me suspiciously, talking to each other in hushed tones.

"Miss Wang, who is she?" The taller of the two inquired in the distinct accent of the sea town that the two girls were trying to gain entrance to.

**Natsuki**

Shit. They asked me who Shizuru was. Damn damn damn, what excuse should I give?

"She's my… lover," it just slipped out of my mouth! Oh my god, what the hell did I say! Why was that the first thing out of my mouth? There are a million other excuses that I could have used!

I felt delicate hands slide around my unclothed midriff and the heat of a body against my back before I heard the gasps of the officers. I turned my head a fraction to see Shizuru's perfectly calm face an inch from my own, smiling serenely.

"Ara, of course Na- Nina is," Shizuru said, barely concealing the slip of her tongue as she addressed me.

"If you're lovers, then kiss," The shorter guard joked, crossing his arms in triumph, obviously picking up on the non-coupleness of us.

Oh my god. Did he just ask me to kiss Shizuru! Impossible! How on earth could I do that!

Shizuru detached herself from my waist and we turned to face each other. She had a placid mask on, and was looking at me perfectly seriously.

**Shizuru**

The guard wants me to kiss Natsuki? I don't really mind, I mean, what's a kiss? Really I don't see why people freak out about that kind of thing.

I put my hands around her shoulders, pulling her closer to me. She glides her hands around to my back, but her hands are shaking. She's deathly nervous. I bet this is her first kiss.

I don't have much idea how to do this. I get the feeling that it's my first kiss too, but how would I know? Damn Amnesia.

I leaned in; I can feel her cool breath on my face, it smells slightly minty (I remember there was a pack of mentos in her jacket pocket.) there's a maroon blush on Natsuki's strong features, and I think that there's a light one on my visage too.

We're barely a centimetre apart; wow, I never noticed her eyes are such a deep green, the colour of emeralds.

Our lips meet halfway, and my pupils dilate in surprise. The kiss is so soft; and the feeling of ecstasy rushes through my body. My grip around her tightens and time looses all meaning. What is this feeling?

**Natsuki**

Shizuru's kissing me. Holy crap, I feel like a million yen! She tightens her grip on me, pushing us together. I had completely forgotten that the two guards were watching us.

"All right ladies, that will do…" they chuckled, opening the barrier. Breaking apart from each other, I rush to get Shizuru back onto the bike and we rush through the border and through into the outskirts of Tokyo.

As soon as we're out of the guards' range of hearing, she explodes into an angry clamour.

"Why on Earth did you say I was your Lover? I've had to waste my first kiss on a… a…"

"Go on, say it. I dare you," my rage overcomes common sense as we near the tollgate of Tokyo. I break my motorbike abruptly and we both get off and face each other.

"I WASTED MY FIRST KISS ON A DELIQUENT!" She screams, tears running down her face.

SLAP.

The side of my face stings as her hand makes contact, leaving a red mark.

And she saunters off into the night, leaving me alone.

----------

oh my god! Shizuru and Natsuki split up! What will befall them separately and will they get back together.

I added the back-story of the world, too… since I read Azn-Anime's newest vampy Mai HiME fic I was considering that a back-story is really important for this kind of fic.

Omake:

Natsuki: She's… my Lover!

Guard: if she's you're lover…

Guard 2: then strip and do this and that!

Shizuru: this I can take… but… (gulp) that?

Natsuki: c'mon Shizuru, I've read plenty of M-rated yuri fanfics. It'll be fun!

Shizuru: Natsuki, you think after two anime seasons of doing kinky things to you, I don't know now to have some fun?

(sound of clothes being ripped off and gasping guards)

(squiggly thing) Emiri


	7. Shadows

A/N finally I'm back! So much homework and school stuff, I've had hardly any time to write. And it didn't help that my thumb drive (memory stick) went berserk and deleted the whole of _falling._ So I had to get it back from here but the internet security is high. But I'm back. Huzzah!

Chapter 7- Shadows

**Shizuru**

Natsuki sped off into the lights of Tokyo, leaving me for the vultures. Oh my, how mean of her.

**Natsuki**

Pfft, who needs her anyway? Why was I with Shizuru in the first place? Whatever. I can't go back to my home city; Youko and Sakomizu will have my guts if I do. Thus, I've decided to go to Windbloom in the neighbouring continent of Earl, because there is the fabled assassin's guild. And, if you haven't already guessed, I want in.

I pick pocketed a man by the tavern (he shouldn't have been so drunk anyway), and so I have some more money for now. With it, I managed to get a grimy seat in the cargo hold of a really old sailing ship called the _Princess._ She sails in a few hours.

**Shizuru**

I went to the docks; my brain tells me that Natsuki will want to get out of the country as soon as she can. I saw her handing over money to a crusty old man in a captain's uniform; she's obviously going to hide in the cargo hold and sneak over or something.

"'Ello love!" the captain calls after Natsuki has disappeared onto the ship. "Yeh'd be wantin' passage ta' Earl?"

"Yes I would, kind gentleman. But alas, all that resides in my purse are cobwebs, and thus I cannot pay for a voyage over," I said dramatically. This is so fun!

"That's alright love! Only th' passengers hav'ta pay! Like that blue-'aired lass that you was watchin' earlier. We're short'ta crew, so I'd be willin' ta' take yeh over for free if ya did some jobs 'round th' ship," he explained, taking puffs from his pipe after every sentence.

And so, I found myself swaying on the stormy seas in a hard bunk in total darkness, my hands sore from swabbing the decks.

That night, my dreams resumed their relentless assailment of me again.

An icy wind played through the dead branches of distorted trees, chilling my soul. A restricting mist pervaded everywhere; it poured down my throat, freezing my lungs and laying a thin layer of frost on my exposed face. The crisp, pure snow stretches out in a pathway before me, getting darker and darker. There is no light at the end of the tunnel.

I walked. I do not know how far nor how long for, but I walked. I fell. I fell many, many times. But I could not stop. My tears of pain froze before they welled from my eyes. Up ahead there is a ruin; it looks like a stairway. I have a feeling that I've laid my eyes upon this place before, but I can never quite identify it.

Snowflakes begin to fall, at first crystal clear and beautiful, but soon they hail down with abandon, clinging to me. The snowflakes are tinged with crimson; someone is bleeding. At the very top of this great ruin, a trickle of blood flows from its source, polluting the unsullied snowfall with its sanguine tones.

The sorrowful angel lays there, red fluid pouring from their body. I want to reach out my hand to them, give them warmth. But my limbs are rigid; my cries freeze in my throat. The cobalt-winged seraph spills more blood, lying perfectly still. Scratch marks adorn their body, colouring their dark blue coat. Those beautiful yet mournful feathers have replaced the snowflakes, casting the world in a sombre light.

This place in death, eternal damnation. This is not heaven nor hell, but the thin layer between the two. This world has been forgotten, left behind for the simple definitions of good and evil. This angel has been laying here bleeding for eternity and a day, suffering so that innocents may not have to endure what it must. Giving themselves into eternal torment, they continue to lock everything out of this perversion of the material plane.

The blizzard stops. The world is quiet, so quiet that mournful bells ring a requiem tune inside the recesses of my mind. A single sapphire feather floats down unto me, landing in my frozen hands. A wintry palette of colours explodes behind my eyes, blinding me. I am immobile; I cannot even fall to my knees.

The Forgotten Seraph stirs.

**Natsuki**

My mind feels so strange… it must be morning, because pallid sunlight filters through the holes in the planks of the ship. I can't remember when I went to sleep, but by the bell that just tolled once it's apparently lunchtime. Wow, I slept for ages. I think I had a dream. Did I? Oh well, I never really remember my dreams anyways, so it's not much of a big deal.

One of the other passengers is looking at me strangely; it's a young woman with short blue hair, red eyes and an odd hat. She won't stop staring. I turn around and try to ignore her.

It's going to be a very long week.

**Shizuru**

Boat life is definitely not for me. I'm sick of swabbing decks and making grog and vittels. Thank god for Windbloom's port. The dream I had still freaks me out a lot, and I'm jumpy all the time, but I really have to forget that now.

I feel so godly, looking at the figures of the everyday people going about their lives, which are so important to them, as tiny ant-sized blurs of colour.

Natsuki's moving again. She leaped from her perch above the crows nest as though she were no more than a stray flag being played about on the breeze, landing soundlessly behind a post on the dockside. Clutching my travelling cloak tight around me, I dived off the side of the deck and quickly lost myself (and Natsuki) in the crowd of busy citizens.

There- nothing more that a nearly invisible illusion in the form of a few strands of sapphire hair whipping around a corner. But yes, it was there. I hastened my pace.

She's soon up on the low and slanted rooftops of the fishermen, bounding silently along. To my left is the canal and slums, and to my right the grand palace of Mashiro Blan de Windbloom, queen of this city. Apparently she's still only a child, or so the sailors have told me.

She knows someone's following her. I can see that in the pattern of perfectly enacted desperation, like one would try to shrug someone off. She's just doing it to make sure that anyone who is following her has been tricked into thinking they have her worried; in other words, that they have the upper hand. How do I know what she's thinking?

I don't. Am I just guessing, or is there really something between us? I shudder at the thought.

She's gone; disappeared from my sight. I look down and hear (not see) the soft clang of a sewer cover being pulled back into place. I bent down to examine it; there's a small and barely noticeable etching at the centre; a dagger with a skull as the handle.

Assassins.

**Natsuki**

Bah! I'm glad to be rid of that boat. Arika's corpse was enough of a warning for me to high-tail it outta there ASAP. I have my eyes set on the guild and that damn amnesiac angel (or maybe angel- hey, I only saw those wings once) behind me.

Yet it feels like there's a gaping hole in my chest.

Someone's following me; out of the very corner of my eyes, I cloaked figure mirrors my moves perfectly. Probably a scout or envoy from the assassins. I quicken my pace and feign that I'm worried about being followed.

Dropping from the rooftops and into the sewer of death (or so it is called), the cover makes a slight sound. Damn! Well, nothing's perfect. Except-

Snap. Back to reality! You are in a sewer full of trained and ready-to-kill assassins, you have one probably following you, and you could be shot or stabbed at any time! Honestly, I should stop talking to myself.

And the silence envelops me.

----

Well here is the long awaited chapter! Updaters will usually be faster then this, but it took a while for me to get a school computer account and with it access to the internet. Have fun! I may update Time Before Dawn next!

Have fun

Emiri


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